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New York Giants' 7 Biggest Draft Busts

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Sure, the Giants can beat their chests about landing studs such as Lawrence Taylor, Phil Simms, Michael Strahan and Odell Beckham Jr. in the first round of the NFL draft, but they've had their share of duds, too.

Here is a look at the seven biggest first-round busts in Big Blue history:

7. Ron Dayne, RB, Wisconsin, 2000

Ron Dayne
Ron Dayne in 2004 (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

The 1999 Heisman Trophy winner and 11th overall pick finished his career with more than 3,700 career rushing yards – not the worst stats in the world. But in his four years with the Giants, he never topped 770 yards, averaged 3.5 yards per carry and saw his production drop each year. The Giants had to be kicking themselves that they passed on Shaun Alexander that year.

6. Jarrod Bunch, FB, Michigan, 1991

Jarrod Bunch
Jarod Bunch in 1992 (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

The Giants took Bunch with the last pick of the first round thinking he could complement Rodney Hampton. He was relegated to special teams as a rookie before having a decent sophomore season (501 yards, 4.8 yards per carry). Knee injuries, however, quickly derailed his career, and he was out of football by 1995. Today, he's an actor who appeared in "Django Unchained."

5. Thomas Lewis, WR, Indiana, 1994

Thomas Lewis
Giants wide receiver Thomas Lewis (Photo by Henny Ray Abrams/ AFP/Getty Images)

Taken with the 24th overall pick, the burner lasted just four seasons in the NFL, catching 74 passes for 1,032 yards and five TDs

4. Dave Brown, QB, Duke, 1992

Dave Brown
Dave Brown (Photo by Henny Ray Abrams/AFP/Getty Images)


The Giants used a first-round pick in the supplemental draft on Brown, which cost them their top pick the following year. He started for the Giants from 1994-96, had a 23-30 record and threw more touchdowns than interceptions just once.

3. Derek Brown, TE, Notre Dame, 1992

Derek Brown
Giants tight end Derek Brown in 1995 (credit: Getty Images)

Brown was selected with the 14th overall pick. His total stats after three seasons in New York: 11 receptions, 89 yards, no touchdowns.

2. Cedric Jones, DE, Oklahoma, 1996

Cedric Jones
Cedric Jones tries to wrap up Vikings quarterback Duante Culpepper in the NFC championship game in January 2001. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/ALLSPORT)

In the Giants' mind, when they drafted Jones with the fifth overall pick, they thought he and Strahan would team up to form a young, lethal tandem of pass rushers. But Jones, who was legally blind in one eye and couldn't play on the left side of the formation, did not record his first sack until his third year in the league – and he only registered 15 sacks in his five-year career.

1. Joe Don Looney, RB, Oklahoma, 1964
The Giants selected Looney with the 12th pick despite the fact that he flunked out of Texas and was kicked off the teams at TCU and Oklahoma – the latter for punching a graduate assistant coach. Looney lasted just 25 days in Giants training camp and racked up a number of fines for violating team rules before he was traded to the Baltimore Colts.

DISHONORABLE MENTION
• Rocky Thompson, RB, West Texas A&M, 1971
• Eldridge Small, CB, Texas A&M-Kingsville, 1972
• John Hicks, G, Ohio State, 1974
• George Adams, RB, Kentucky, 1985
• Eric Dorsey, DE, Notre Dame, 1986
• William Joseph, DT, Miami, 2003

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